Image forming apparatus, image forming system, image forming system control method, and program

ABSTRACT

An image forming apparatus includes a receiving unit configured to receive data via a network, a printing unit configured to print an image based on the data received from the receiving unit, and a control unit configured to control the receiving unit to refuse a data reception based on a simple mail transfer protocol (SMTP) when a toner remaining amount for the printing unit is less than a predetermined value, wherein the printing unit is configured to print, in the case that the receiving unit receives page description language (PDL) data, an image based on the received PDL data even if the toner remaining amount is less than the predetermined value.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/471,330 filed on May 14, 2012, which claims the benefit of JapaneseApplication No. 2011-113828 filed May 20, 2011, which are herebyincorporated by reference herein in their entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an image forming system configured froma data communication apparatus that transmits electronic mail datagenerated based on facsimile data received via a public line and animage forming apparatus that forms an image based on that electronicmail data.

2. Description of the Related Art

Conventionally, an image forming apparatus that has a facsimile functionfor transmitting and receiving facsimile data via a public line has beengenerally known. Further, in recent years Internet facsimile apparatuses(hereinafter sometimes also referred to as “Internet FAX apparatus”)have been also becoming commonplace as a facsimile apparatus capable ofperforming facsimile communication via the Internet using an electronicmail protocol. An Internet FAX transmits data by using an electronicmail protocol (simple mail transfer protocol (“SMTP”)) instead of atelephone line, and is recommended by the InternationalTelecommunication Union (ITU).

An Internet FAX apparatus can utilize the Internet or an intranet totransmit and receive a facsimile. Compared with a facsimile apparatusthat utilizes a telephone line, an Internet FAX apparatus can realize areduction in communication costs, can computerize paper documents by asimple operation equivalent to a facsimile, and can attach thatcomputerized document to an electronic mail and transmit it to apersonal computer. Under an Internet FAX apparatus standard called“simple mode”, image data with an A4 printing paper size and 200 dotsper inch (dpi) printing resolution can be transmitted from the InternetFAX apparatus to a printer, and the image data received by the printercan be printed out.

Further, the above-described image forming apparatus can also receiveand print out electronic mail other than electronic mail transmittedbased on the Internet FAX standard. Moreover, in addition to theelectronic mail receiving function, the above-described image formingapparatus may include a function for printing print data generated by aprinter driver on a personal computer (PC) received via a network. Sucha printer can also print electronic mail and page description language(PDL) data received in parallel.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-64670 discusses a FAXapparatus that restricts printing when a toner remaining amount is lessthan a predetermined value in order to prevent a print product frombecoming faint due to lowering of the toner remaining amount.

When printing the received PDL data, although printing can be repeatedby re-transmitting the data from the PC, if the received data iselectronic mail data, since the sender and the receiver are different,in many cases it is impossible for the receiver to re-transmit and printthe data.

Consequently, if printing is prohibited across the board regardless ofthe type of data when the toner remaining amount falls below thepredetermined value as carried out in the conventional method, whenreceiving and printing the print data, printing is restricted despitethe fact that a few pages can be printed even though the toner remainingamount has fallen below the predetermined value. Consequently, userconvenience is dramatically reduced.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to providing means for restrictingprinting depending on the type of data.

An image forming apparatus includes a receiving unit configured toreceive data via a network, a printing unit configured to print an imagebased on the data received from the receiving unit, and a control unitconfigured to control the receiving unit to refuse a data receptionbased on a simple mail transfer protocol (SMTP) when a toner remainingamount for the printing unit is less than a predetermined value, whereinthe printing unit is configured to print, in the case that the receivingunit receives page description language (PDL) data, an image based onthe received PDL data even if the toner remaining amount is less thanthe predetermined value.

According to the present invention, image formation can be suitablyrestricted based on the type of data that is received via a network.

Further features and aspects of the present invention will becomeapparent from the following detailed description of embodiments withreference to the attached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of the specification, illustrate embodiments, features, and aspectsof the invention and, together with the description, serve to explainthe principles of the invention.

FIG. 1 illustrates a configuration of a network system configured from aPC, a multi function peripheral (MFP), and a single function peripheral(SFP).

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a transfer setting table stored inthe MFP, illustrating data transfer to the SFP.

FIG. 3 is a data configuration diagram of an electronic mail.

FIG. 4 is a print example of the electronic mail illustrated in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram among a FAX apparatus, an MFP, and an SFP.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating the processing performed by the MFPof FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating the processing performed by the SFPof FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Various exemplary embodiments, features, and aspects of the inventionwill be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described using thedrawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an imageforming system according to the present embodiment. This image formingsystem is configured from a facsimile apparatus 100 (hereinafter, “FAXapparatus”) for transmitting facsimile data, an MFP 200 that includes aplurality of functions, such as a facsimile function, a print function,and an E-mail transmission function, a single function apparatus(hereinafter, “SFP”) 300 for printing, and a versatile personal computer(hereinafter, “PC”) 400. In the present embodiment, the MFP is describedas an example of a data communication apparatus, and the SFP isdescribed as an example of an image forming apparatus.

The FAX apparatus 100 and the MFP 200 are connected by a public switchedtelephone network (PSTN) or an integrated service digital network(ISDN).

The MFP 200, the SFP 300, and the PC 400 are communicably connected toeach other on a local area network (LAN) 600.

The MFP 200 has a plurality of FAX lines and FAX numbers. Further, theMFP 200 can set one transfer destination apparatus per FAX number, sothat the facsimile data received by the MFP 200 can be transferred todifferent transfer destinations.

The MFP 200 can convert the facsimile data received from the FAXapparatus 100 into image data in a file format that can be printed bythe SFP 300, attach the image data to an electronic mail as an imagefile, and transfer that electronic mail to the SFP 300 via the LAN 600.In this data transfer, the image data is directly transferred to the SFP300 without going via an electronic mail server by using an electronicmail transmission protocol called “simple mail transfer protocol”(SMTP).

The MFP includes a function called “direct SMTP”, which enables the MFPto transmit image data generated by reading a document with a scanner byelectronic mail using the SMTP protocol, and to make the SFP 300 printthe image data.

The SFP 300 receives the electronic mail data via the LAN 600, andprints the received data. At this stage, if the received electronic maildata was transferred from the FAX apparatus 100 via the MFP 200, the SFP300 prints the image file attached to the electronic mail data. If thedata was not received in this manner, the SFP 300 prints the body textof the electronic mail and the attachment image file. Further, the SFP300 can also receive and print PDL data transmitted from a printerdriver in the PC 400.

The data that flows through the LAN 600 is transmitted based on atransmission protocol up to the transport layer called transmissioncontrol protocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP). Further, the electronicmail data can be transmitted and received by using SMTP as an upperlayer communication protocol.

Next, a hardware configuration of the MFP 200 will be described. Acentral processing unit (CPU) 211 controls the MFP 200. A read-onlymemory (ROM) 216 stores program codes for controlling the CPU 211, adisplay panel 212, an operation unit 213, a scanner unit 214, and aprint engine unit 215. By using a rewritable flash ROM for the ROM 216,the program codes stored in the ROM can be updated. A random accessmemory (RAM) 217 can be used to serve as a work memory for the controlprogram codes, as well as to temporarily store images to be output forprint to the print engine unit 215. A non-volatile memory 218temporarily stores the received facsimile data, electronic mail, andattached image files. The non-volatile memory 218 is configured from ahard disk drive (HDD), a flash ROM and the like.

The print engine unit 215 performs image formation based on the imagedata. The print engine unit 215 acquires a remaining amount of tonerrequired for image formation at periodic intervals, or when one imagepage is printed, or when toner is replenished. The acquired tonerremaining amount is stored in the RAM 217.

The scanner unit 214 reads a document and converts it into image data.Various keys for receiving operations from the user are provided on theoperation unit 213, so that the user can issue execution instructionsfor the various programs. The display panel 212 displays operationscreens for functions, settings and the like. Electronic mail datagenerated from the image data converted by the scanner unit 214 can alsobe transmitted to an external device.

An Ethernet® interface 219 for connecting to the LAN 600 can transmitand receive electronic mail data and PDL data.

Via a FAX connector 220 for connecting to a public switched telephonenetwork (PSTN) 500, facsimile data from the FAX apparatus 100 can betransmitted and received.

Next, the parts of the hardware configuration of the SFP 300 that aredifferent from the MFP 200 will be described. A CPU 311 controls the SFP300. A control program for executing the processing described below inFIG. 7 is stored in the CPU 311. A display panel 312 displays functionsand settings. An operation unit 313 issues execution instructions forthe various programs. A print engine unit 315 is configured to printimage data. A ROM 316 stores program codes for controlling the CPU 311,the display panel 312, the operation unit 313, and the print engine unit315. A RAM 317 can be used to serve as a work memory for the controlprogram codes, as well as to temporarily store images to be printed bythe print engine unit 315. A non-volatile memory 318 temporarily storeselectronic mail and attached image files. An Ethernet® interface 319 forconnecting to the LAN 600 can transmit and receive electronic mail dataand PDL data.

The overall configuration of the system according to the presentembodiment was described above. Next, an operation will be described inwhich the MFP 200 transfers facsimile data transmitted from the FAXapparatus 100 to the SFP 300 by electronic mail, and performs printingbased on the transferred electronic mail with the SFP 300.

FIG. 2 is a table illustrating a facsimile data transfer setting storedin the non-volatile memory 218 of the MFP 200. The transfer settingtable 230 is used to check a reception condition to determine whetherfacsimile data received from the FAX apparatus 100 should be printed bythe MFP 200 itself or should be transferred to another apparatus.Further, the transfer setting table 230 is referred to in order tospecify the transfer destination apparatus when transferring facsimiledata.

The transfer setting table 230 is configured from FAX numbers, transferdestination IP addresses, and transfer retry numbers. When facsimiledata is received as to a FAX number, data transfer is performed to theapparatus set as the transfer destination IP address based on SMTP,which is the protocol used for electronic mail data transfer.

If a session cannot be established during data transfer, specifically,if an SMTP session start request is refused by the transfer apparatus,the MFP 200 again tries to transfer the data. The number of times thatthe MFP 200 retries transfer of the data is set by the transfer retrynumber. If the number of retries exceeds the set value for the transferretry number, the MFP 200 stops data transfer, and performs proxyprinting by itself.

The FAX numbers, the transfer destination IP addresses, and the transferretry numbers set in the transfer setting table 230 can be freelyrewritten via the display panel 212 and the operation unit 213. Further,these settings can also be configured such that only a person having aspecial authority, such as an administrator, can set them.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of electronic mail data transmitted andreceived by the MFP 200 and the SFP 300. The electronic mail data inFIG. 3 is configured from an E-mail header 700, an E-mail body 701, andattached image files (attachment image file) 702 and 703.

The E-mail header 700 is configured from a “Date” field for setting thetransmission date and time, a “From” field for setting the electronicmail address of the sender, and a “To” field for setting the mailaddress of the receiver. Further, the E-mail header 700 also includes a“Subject” field for setting the subject of the electronic mail, and a“Message-ID” field for setting a unique identification (ID) that isgenerated based on the transmission date and time and the mail addressof the sender device in order to identify the electronic mail data.

In addition, according to the present embodiment, the E-mail header 700can be configured such that it includes a field (“X-Canon-Fax”) forindicating transfer printing from the FAX apparatus 100. By adding the“X-Canon-Fax” field to the E-mail header 700 illustrated in FIG. 3,transfer printing from the FAX apparatus 100 can be indicated. If the“X-Canon-Fax” field attribute is added, the SFP 300 receiving theelectronic mail data determines that the received electronic mail wastransferred from the FAX apparatus 100 via the MFP 200, and prints onlythe attachment image file of the electronic mail data. On the otherhand, if the “X-Canon-Fax” field attribute is “OFF”, or if the“X-Canon-Fax” field attribute is not added to the E-mail header 700,both the electronic mail body and the attachment image file are printed.

When the MFP 200 utilizes the direct SMTP function to transmitelectronic mail data including text data in the E-mail body to the SFP300, this field attribute may be set to OFF.

Since E-mail data has to be information that can be read in 7-bit code,if the attachment image file is binary data it cannot be transmitted asis. Therefore, the E-mail body and the attachment image files 702 and703 are transmitted by converting the data into a multipurpose Internetmail extension (MIME) format. The MIME version is set by the“MIME-Version” field in the E-mail header 700. Various data attributesare set in a “Content-Type” field of the E-mail body 701 and theattachment image files 702 and 703. A coding method of the data is setin a “Content-Transfer-Encoding” field.

In the present embodiment, the E-mail body 701 is configured from“ISO-2022-JP” language system text data.

In the present embodiment, the attachment image file 702 is configuredfrom image data in a tagged image file format (TIFF) that uses a codingmethod called “base 64”.

The attachment image file 703 is configured from image data in a jointphotographic experts group (JPEG) format that uses the same “base 64”coding method.

In the present embodiment, the two attachment image files 702 and 703are attached to the electronic mail. However, the number of image filesattached to the electronic mail and the compression format of theattachment image files are not especially limited. In a case of a TIFFformat, the attachment image file can be configured from multiple pagesin which a plurality of images are stored in a single file.Consequently, image printing of a plurality of pages can be realized bysending one attachment image file in the electronic mail.

For example, in addition to image files in a TIFF format or a JPEGformat, a portable document format (PDF) file may also be attached tothe electronic mail.

FIG. 4 illustrates a printing example of the E-mail body and theattachment image file of the electronic mail data illustrated in FIG. 3.

In FIG. 4, the images are printed one by one. The E-mail body 701 isprinted at the first page, the attachment image file 702 is printed atthe second page, and the attachment image file 703 is printed at thethird page.

In addition, if the “X-Canon-Fax” field indicating transfer printingfrom the FAX apparatus 100 described in FIG. 3 is not added or if the“X-Canon-Fax” field attribute is OFF, the electronic mail body 701 andthe attachment image files 702 and 703 are printed.

On the other hand, if the “X-Canon-Fax” field attribute is “ON”,printing of the E-mail body 701 is omitted, and just the attachmentimage files 702 and 703 are printed.

By referring to whether this field is ON or OFF, it can be determinedwhether to omit the printing of the E-mail body 701 in non-existentelectronic mail data when transmitting image data from the FAX apparatus100 to the MFP 200.

FIG. 5 illustrates the basic operation sequence among the FAX apparatus100, the MFP 200, and the SFP 300. The sequence in FIG. 5 is anoperation procedure for transferring facsimile data received from theFAX apparatus 100 by the MFP 200 to the SFP 300 by electronic mail, andprinting the transferred data with the SFP. The sequence illustrated inFIG. 5 is described assuming that the facsimile data received by the MFP200 matches a transferring condition to the SFP 300, the amount of tonerrequired for printing by the print engine unit 315 in the SFP 300 issufficient to perform printing normally.

In step S100, the facsimile data transmitted from the FAX apparatus 100is received by the MFP 200 based on a known facsimile procedure. In stepS101, the facsimile data is temporarily stored in the non-volatilememory 218 of the MFP 200, and the completion of reception is notifiedto the FAX apparatus 100.

In step S102, the electronic mail data and attachment image files aregenerated for transfer to the SFP 300.

The attachment image files are generated based on the facsimile datastored in step S101, and are configured from an image file in a TIFFformat or a JPEG format.

In steps S103 to S108 and step S112, the electronic mail data and theattachment image files generated in step S102 are transmitted via SMTPcommands.

Although a detailed description of the SMTP commands and their contentsis omitted in the present embodiment, in the command indicatingfinishing of data transmission in step S112, the completion of printingis notified by returning a message indicating “success” after thebelow-described printing processing has been completed.

In step S109, the SFP 300 analyzes the electronic mail data received ina MIME format, and restores the E-mail body 701 and attachment imagefiles 702 and 703 by decoding.

In step S110, the SFP 300 generates an image for printing based on therestored E-mail body 701 and attachment image files 702 and 703.

In step S111, the SFP 300 prints the generated image. In step S112, theSFP 300 returns an SMTP session finish command (QUIT) as a response tothe data finish command. When the MFP 200 receives the SMTP sessionfinish command, after the printing of all pages of the SMTP sessionfinish command has been completed, the MFP 200 notifies the SFP 300 thatprinting has been completed by returning a “successful” message inresponse to the command indicating data transmission finish in stepS108.

In step S113, the MFP 200 confirms that the printing in step S108 hasbeen completed, and then deletes the facsimile data that is temporarilystored in the non-volatile memory 218 of the MFP 200.

The above was a description of the operation sequence among the FAXapparatus 100, the MFP 200, and the SFP 300.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating the processing performed by the MFP200. The control program code for executing the respective steps in thisflowchart is stored in the ROM 216, and executed by the CPU 211.

First, in step S200, the MFP 200 receives facsimile data from the FAXapparatus 100 and stores the facsimile data in the non-volatile memory218. This processing corresponds to steps S100 and S101 in FIG. 5.

In step S201, the CPU 211 determines whether the facsimile data wasreceived with a transferring condition to one or a plurality ofpre-registered SFPs. Specifically, the CPU 211 refers to the transfersetting table 230 illustrated in FIG. 2 to determine whether the FAXnumber when the facsimile data is received, matches any of the FAXnumbers registered in the transfer setting table of FIG. 2, anddetermines whether a transfer setting to the SFP is set.

If it is determined in step S201 that a transfer setting is not set (NOin step S201), the processing proceeds to step S210. In step S210, theprint engine unit 215 prints the facsimile data.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S201 that a transfersetting is set (YES in step S201), in step S202, the CPU 211 generateselectronic mail data for transmission to the transfer apparatusindicated by the IP address corresponding to the received FAX number. Inthe present embodiment, the following description will be based on theassumption that the apparatus to which the facsimile data is transmittedis the SFP 300 illustrated in FIG. 1.

The “X-Canon-FAX” field in the E-mail header 700 of the electronic maildata generated in step S202 is set to “ON”. Further, the electronic maildata is generated such that the format of the attachment image files canbe printed by the SFP 300 (e.g., a TIFF format or a JPEG format).

In step S203, the CPU 211 starts an SMTP session for transmitting theelectronic mail data to the IP address of the transfer apparatus. Thisprocessing corresponds to step S103 in FIG. 5.

In step S204, the CPU 211 determines whether it was possible to startthe SMTP session. If the session could not be started (NO in step S204),the CPU 211 determines that the electronic mail data cannot betransmitted to the SFP 300, and after a predetermined time period haselapsed the CPU 211 again issues a request to start a SMTP session. Thissession start request is repeated the number of times indicated by thetransfer retry number corresponding to the IP address of the transferapparatus illustrated in FIG. 2.

In step S205, the CPU 211 determines whether the number of retries hasreached the transfer retry number (upper limit) in FIG. 2. If it isdetermined that the upper limit has been reached (YES in step S205), theCPU 211 stops the transfer to the SFP 300 and the processing proceeds tostep S210. In step S210, printing is performed by the MFP 200.

In step S206, the electronic mail data generated in step S202 istransmitted. This processing corresponds to step S107 in FIG. 5.

In step S207, the CPU 211 monitors whether the MFP 200 has switched froma state in which an SMTP session is established to a state in which anSMTP session is not established (whether the session has ended). If thesession has ended in the middle of the electronic mail data transmission(YES in step S207), the processing returns to step S203 and electronicmail data transmission is performed from the start.

In step S208, the CPU 211 determines whether transmission is completed.If it is determined that electronic mail transmission has finishednormally (YES in step S208), the processing proceeds to step S209. Instep S209, the CPU 211 deletes the facsimile data that was temporarilystored in the RAM 217 and the non-volatile memory 218, and finishes theprocessing performed in this flowchart.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating the processing performed by the SFP300. The control program for executing the respective steps in thisflowchart is stored in the ROM. 316, and executed by the CPU 311. Theprocessing illustrated in the flowchart of FIG. 7 is started based onthe reception of data via the LAN 600 and the Ethernet® interface 319from either the MFP 200 or the PC 400.

First, in step S300, the SFP 300 determines whether the data received bythe Ethernet® interface 319 is electronic mail data or PDL data based onthe protocol and a port number.

If it is determined that the received data is electronic mail data (YESin step S300), in step S301, the CPU 311 checks the “X-Canon-Fax” fieldincluded in the received electronic mail data by referring to the E-mailheader 700 in the electronic mail data illustrated in FIG. 3 in order todetermine whether the received data is electronic mail data transferredfrom the FAX apparatus 100 (FAX transfer) or is some other electronicmail data (e.g., electronic mail data that uses a direct SMTP function).If the “X-Canon-Fax” field is ON, the CPU 311 determines that thereceived data is a FAX transfer (YES in step S301), and the processingproceeds to step S302. On the other hand, if the “X-Canon-Fax” field isOFF or if this field is not added, the CPU 311 determines that thereceived data is not a FAX transfer (NO in step S301), and theprocessing proceeds to step S305.

Next, in step S302, the CPU 311 checks the toner remaining amount storedin the RAM 317. The acquired toner remaining amount was written in theRAM 317 when the print engine unit 315 collected the status at apredetermined timing as described above.

In step S303, the CPU 311 compares the toner remaining amount acquiredin step S302 with a reference value (defined value) determined inadvance by the SFP 300. The defined value for the toner remaining amountin the present embodiment indicates a stage at which faint printing dueto an insufficient toner remaining amount does not occur, and is areference for guaranteeing normal printing. If it is determined that thetoner remaining amount is less than the predetermined reference value(defined value) by the SFP 300 (YES in step S303), in step S304, the CPU311 refuses to receive the electronic mail data by transmitting a QUITcommand as a response to the HELO command from the MFP 200. Then, theprocessing in this flowchart is finished. Consequently, printing of theelectronic mail data transferred from the MFP 200 is restricted.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S303 that the tonerremaining amount is equal to or greater than the defined value, so thatthere is a guarantee that a output print product is not faint (NO instep S303), in step S305, the CPU 311 allows the SFP 300 to receive thedata, and generates a print image based on the received data. If thereceived data is electronic mail data, the CPU 311 restores the E-mailbody 701 and the attachment image files 702 and 703 by analyzing anddecoding the MIME-format data and generates the print image.

If it is determined in step S301 that the received data is a FAXtransfer, an image is generated without the E-mail body 701 portion ofthe electronic mail data. On the other hand, if the received data is PDLdata, in step S305, the CPU 311 analyzes the PDL data, and generates abitmap image based on the respective commands described in the PDL data.

In step S306, the image generated in step S305 is printed. In step S307,if the CPU 311 determines that printing of all the page images has beencompleted (YES in step S307), the processing in this flowchart isfinished. On the other hand, if the CPU 311 determines that printing ofall the page images has not yet been completed (NO in step S307), theprocessing proceeds to step S308.

In step S308, the CPU 311 determines whether the received data iselectronic mail data. If it is determined that the received data iselectronic mail (YES in step S308), the processing proceeds to stepS309. In step S309, based on the received electronic mail data, the CPU311 checks whether the received data is electronic mail data that wastransmitted from the FAX apparatus 100 via the MFP 200. If it isdetermined that the received data is electronic mail data transmittedfrom the FAX apparatus 100 via the MFP 200 (YES in step S309), theprocessing proceeds to step S310. In step S310, the toner remainingamount is confirmed based on the same procedure as in step S302 when theimage of each page is printed and discharged onto a discharge unit inthe SFP 300.

In step S311, the CPU 311 determines whether the toner remaining amountis less than the defined value based on the same procedure as in stepS303. If it is determined that the toner remaining amount is less thanthe defined value (YES in step S311), the CPU 311 stops printing of theelectronic mail data, ends the SMTP session to notify the MFP 200, whichis still transmitting the electronic mail data, that printing wasunsuccessful. Further, the CPU 311 deletes the received electronic mailand the attachment image files, and finishes the processing performed inthis flowchart.

When this notification is transmitted to the MFP 200, the MFP 200attempts to transmit the data a number of times for retry indicated inthe transfer setting table 230. If transmission is still unsuccessfuleven after these retries, proxy printing is performed.

If it is determined in step S308 that the printing is based on PDL data(NO in step S308), or determined in step S309 that the received data isnot a FAX transfer (NO in step S309), the processing returns to stepS305, and print image generation of the next page is continued.

In FIG. 7, the toner remaining amount is confirmed in steps S302 andS303 when the electronic mail data starts to be received, and in stepsS308 and S309 while the electronic mail is being received on apage-by-page basis. Thus, when the toner is replenished, the tonerremaining amount may vary and reception of the electronic mail data isrestarted.

As described above, according to the present embodiment,reception/printing are restricted based on whether the data received bythe Ethernet interface 319 is electronic mail data or PDL data.Consequently, when an electronic mail is received, faint printing isprevented by stopping reception and printing, while if the received datais PDL data, reception and printing are continued.

Further, in the present embodiment, when the toner remaining amount inthe SFP 300 is less than the defined value, an SMTP session startrequest is refused as the method for restricting printing based on theelectronic mail data from the MFP 200. Specifically, the electronic maildata per se is not received by the SFP 300. Consequently, a situation inwhich the electronic mail data is left stored in the SFP 300 withoutbeing printed can be prevented.

In the flowchart of FIG. 7, whether the received electronic mail datawas transferred from the FAX apparatus 100 is determined (see stepS301). Then based on this determination, it is determined whether printprocessing is performed confirming the toner remaining amount or withoutconfirming the toner remaining amount (see steps S302 and S303).However, if the received data is electronic mail data, the processing ofstep S302 may be performed across the board without performing theabove-described determinations. Thus, the contents of the E-mail header700 in the received electronic mail data do not have to be analyzed, sothat faster processing can be performed.

Further, in the present embodiment, to determine whether the receivedelectronic mail was transferred from the FAX apparatus 100, the E-mailheader 700 of the electronic mail data illustrated in FIG. 3 is referredto (see step S301). However, this determination may be made in adifferent way. For example, the determination can be made based onwhether the electronic mail was received in the procedure illustrated inFIG. 5 (i.e., SMTP protocol procedure), or whether the electronic mailwas received from a post office protocol (POP) 3 server, for example. Inthis case, if the electronic mail was received in the procedureillustrated in FIG. 5, in step S301 it is determined to be “YES”, whileif the electronic mail was received from a POP sever, in step S301 it isdetermined to be “NO”.

The image forming system according to the present embodiment isconfigured such that facsimile data from the FAX apparatus 100 istransferred by the MFP 200 based on an SMTP protocol. Consequently, onthe SFP 300 side, when the received data is received based on the SMTPprotocol, the received data is determined to be a FAX transfer (see stepS300 and S301). However, if the protocol used by the MFP 200 to transferthe data to the SFP 300 is not SMTP, but is some other protocol (e.g.,file transfer protocol (FTP)), it may be determined that the receiveddata is a FAX transfer based on that other protocol.

OTHER EMBODIMENTS

Aspects of the present invention can also be realized by a computer of asystem or apparatus (or devices such as a CPU or MPU) that reads out andexecutes a program recorded on a memory device to perform the functionsof the above-described embodiment(s), and by a method, the steps ofwhich are performed by a computer of a system or apparatus by, forexample, reading out and executing a program recorded on a memory deviceto perform the functions of the above-described embodiment(s). For thispurpose, the program is provided to the computer for example via anetwork or from a recording medium of various types serving as thememory device (e.g., computer-readable medium).

While the present invention has been described with reference toembodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited tothe disclosed embodiments. It will of course be understood that thisinvention has been described above by way of example only, and thatmodifications of detail can be made within the scope of this invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system comprising: a first image formingapparatus; and a second image forming apparatus, wherein the first imageforming apparatus comprises: a first control unit; a first image formingunit; a first receiving unit configured to receive data; and atransferring unit configured to transfer the data received by the firstreceiving unit to the second image forming apparatus, wherein the secondimage forming apparatus comprises: a second receiving unit configured toreceive the data transferred from the first image forming apparatus; asecond image forming unit configured to perform image forming based onthe data received by the second receiving unit; and a second controlunit configured to perform notification to the first image formingapparatus on the basis that it is determined that a remaining amount oftoner used by the second image forming unit for performing the imageforming is less than a predetermined value, and wherein the firstcontrol unit controls the first image forming unit to perform the imageforming based on the data received by the first receiving unit inresponse to reception of the notification from the second image formingapparatus.
 2. The system according to claim 1, wherein, in a case wherethe remaining amount of toner used by the second image forming unit forperforming the image forming is less than the predetermined value, thesecond control unit performs the notification as a response to acommunication establishment request received from the first imageforming apparatus, and wherein, in response to reception of thenotification from the second image forming apparatus, the first controlunit controls the first image forming unit to perform the image formingbased on the data received by the first receiving unit without thetransferring of the data by the transferring unit.
 3. The systemaccording to claim 1, wherein, in a case where the remaining amount oftoner used by the second image forming unit for performing the imageforming is less than the predetermined value, the second control unitperforms the notification as a response to the transferring of the datafrom the first image forming apparatus, and wherein, in response toreception of the notification from the second image forming apparatus,the first control unit stops the transferring of the data by thetransferring unit and controls the first image forming unit to performthe image forming based on the data received by the first receivingunit.
 4. The system according to claim 1, wherein the first imageforming apparatus further comprises a storage unit configured to storethe data received by the first receiving unit, and wherein, in responseto reception of the notification from the second image formingapparatus, the first control unit controls the first image forming unitto perform the image forming based on the data stored in the storageunit.
 5. The system according to claim 4, wherein the first imageforming apparatus further comprises a deleting unit configured to deletethe data stored in the storage unit after the transferring of the databy the transferring unit is completed.
 6. The system according to claim1, wherein, in a case where the remaining amount of toner used by thesecond image forming unit for performing the image forming is less thanthe predetermined value, the second control unit performs thenotification to the first image forming apparatus without performing ofthe image forming by the second image forming unit.
 7. The systemaccording to claim 6, wherein the second image forming unit is furtherconfigured to perform image forming based on data different from thedata transferred from the first image forming apparatus, and wherein,even when the remaining amount of toner used by the second image formingunit for performing the image forming is less than the predeterminedvalue, the second control unit controls the second image forming unit toperform image forming for the data different from the data transferredfrom the first image forming apparatus.
 8. The system according to claim1, wherein the data received by the first receiving unit is facsimiledata.
 9. The system according to claim 8, wherein the data transferredby the transferring unit is data converted from the facsimile data intoe-mail data.
 10. The system according to claim 1, wherein in a casewhere data is received by the receiving unit, the first control unitdetermines whether to transfer the data to the second image formingapparatus or to perform printing based on the data in the first imageforming apparatus.
 11. A first image forming apparatus comprising: afirst control unit; a first image forming unit; a first receiving unitconfigured to receive data; and a transferring unit configured totransfer the data received by the first receiving unit to a second imageforming apparatus, wherein the second image forming apparatus comprises:a second receiving unit configured to receive the data transferred fromthe first image forming apparatus; a second image forming unitconfigured to perform image forming based on the data received by thesecond receiving unit; and a second control unit configured to performnotification to the first image forming apparatus on the basis that itis determined that a remaining amount of toner used by the second imageforming unit for performing the image forming is less than apredetermined value, and wherein the first control unit controls thefirst image forming unit to perform the image forming based on the datareceived by the first receiving unit in response to reception of thenotification from the second image forming apparatus.